Forget Christmas!

I'm trying to forget that Christmas is rushing towards me now....each year it becomes more & more of a nightmare knowing what to get for kids that have everything, so I try to bury my head in the sand & pretend that I won't have to actually take the plunge & buy something...anything. Once again, I'll be panicking at the last minute

To take my mind off the Christmas nightmare I've been making some shellfish instead of the Christmas puds, cakes, mince pies etc etc...... & here is the finished product!

Some filled jars for a friend!

Half term has sort of got in the way of mini creation since I came home from holiday...the kids & I have been visiting quite a few of the North East's attractions..if you ever find yourself in Durham try Beamish Museum..it's a "living" museum & a wonderful insight into the life of miners & farmers & their families in the 1800's.
I have managed to finish some jars for a good friend & I hope she likes them!

It's SO cold here!

Oh dear...I've come back to earth with a pretty big bump over the last couple of days! I left lovely blue skies & sun with temperatures in the high 30's C to find myself with a maximum of 12 degrees C...brr..I had to buy a quilted jacket to keep me warm & find my fur lined boots to replace my flip flops.....not pleasant!
Not a lot of mini making went on over in the desert, but I did manage to weave 10 baskets while waiting for my lazy daughters to get out of their beds each morning! Here's one of them filled with some shopping.....cheese, baguettes, a squash & fruit!

Last blog before the heat of the desert!

OK...before I head off for 2 weeks of lovely sun, sea, lots of sand & mojitos in the desert I'll show you one of the very few pieces I've managed to create this past week...we've been having some glorious weather, temps up in the high 70F...so much better than our supposed summer...& there was NO way I could be inside when it's been so nice...consequently my long list of work to do hasn't got much less this week

So, here to celebrate the fantastic year it's been for growing fruit & veg is a little Harvest Cornucopia! Hope you like it!

It'll be making an appearance on eBay around 10th October....while I'll still be soaking up those rays(not to mention the alcohol!!)

Cupcake Overload!

I think I got a little carried away making these little rose cupcake bouquets! 2 days & 2 nights later, I think I've had more than enough of them now!
They were inspired by the most gorgeous gift rose cupcake bouquets from Mulberry Teacup based in St John's Wood, London & if you should fancy treating yourself or someone special to the "real" & edible kind, check out their site!
http://www.mulberryteacup.com/mulberryteacup/Home.html

I'm off in a few days to have some sun, sea & sand...lots of it.....out in the UAE. Can't wait!

What happened to Autumn?

I have no idea what has happened to Autumn here in the NE of England...not only did we not have much of a summer....again...but Autumn seems to have skipped straight into winter! It's freezing outside today, a gale is blowing & I swear that's not rain but hailstones battering the windows!
It's so miserable & cold that I've been making winter comfort foods for the last few days...there's nothing nicer than a hearty stew or a rich beef pie so, of course I had to work on the mini version too & here it is! If you get a magnifier you can actually follow the recipe if you want! :-))

Hubble Bubble Toil & Trouble!

This was great fun, if a challenge to make! A witches cauldron with an octopus type creature being boiled with bones, fingers & eyeballs! The  challenging bit came in getting the ladle to "float" above the cauldron whilst pouring out some of the green gunk to be found in the cauldron!

Do you think a witch might actually want a cauldron like this? :-))